


at her behest, snow falls from a summer's sky

by orphan_account



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Slice of Life, Witches, basically nothing happens, side wenri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2019-01-31 18:06:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12687456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Joohyun wakes up to the smell of Seulgi cutting herbs for a love potion.





	at her behest, snow falls from a summer's sky

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!

Joohyun wakes up to the smell of Seulgi cutting herbs for a love potion. 

She has obviously made the smell more powerful while enhancing the herbs, and it permeates in the air almost as though it is a physical thing. Joohyun can’t help but smile as she takes in a deep breath--there is a lot of rose and cinnamon, but no shatavari, which means that it’s a relatively weak potion that will fade within days--and then forces herself out of the bed. 

She touches her plants as she walks past them into the kitchen, and they brighten beneath her touch, as they know that she will come water them soon. They are always better behaved when she is around--Seulgi says they like to tease her with their leaves--and she loves them for it. 

Just as expected, Seulgi is in the kitchen, placing herbs onto a red canvass square. 

“Who is that for, hmm?” Joohyun asks, leaning over to kiss Seulgi’s cheek as she reaches into the cupboard to grab a teacup. Seulgi, the darling girl, has already heated up a kettle of water for her. 

“Our darling Yerimie, of course.”

“You’re too soft on her. She should be making her own potions by now. Especially the love ones.” 

“You know she hates that,” Seulgi says, smiling widely. 

“She has never had much patience.” 

“No, she has not. And besides, my love potions are stronger than hers could ever be, because I have you.” 

At this, Joohyun can’t help but smile again. She leans in to kiss Seulgi on the lips this time, and feels the gentle pressure as Seulgi kisses her back lightly. They only kiss for the barest of seconds, but it’s enough for Joohyun to be satisfied. Seulgi has always had that kind of effect, even the smallest doses of her makes Joohyun light up inside. She is powerful that way. 

“Thank you,” Seulgi tells her. “I needed that to infuse into the herbs even more power.” 

“I would be willing to squeeze your butt too, you know, if needed.” 

Seulgi laughs loudly, bringing up her hand to cover her mouth. “No, I don’t think so. Yerim doesn’t want or need passion, she just wants this boy to do something for her, and then to be off on his own way.” 

“That girl doesn’t need a love potion for that.” 

“No, but it’s the easiest way, and would take the shortest amount of time.” 

“Hmm, true.” Joohyun watches as Seulgi finishes cutting up the herbs and wraps them in the red cloth, before pressing them into a mason jar full of vodka. The mixture will need to sit for three days before it is ready, and then Yerim will be ready to break as many hearts and convince as many boys as the tincture will allow. 

They spend their time together in the morning quietly, as they always do, before Joohyun allows herself to rise. “Are you staying home today?” she asks, placing her teacup in the sink. 

“No,” Seulgi says. “The Council wants me to drive to the coast, they have found inklings of magic there. They think a witch child might have been born to human parents who are not ready for them.” 

“Hmm,” Joohyun says, considering this predicament. She would so much like to have a child with Seulgi some day, some day. No matter how much Joohyun wants, though, the Goddess as not blessed them with a child. And yet, more and more witch children are born to human parents who can not take care of their needs properly. She hopes Seulgi will be able to figure this out. “Stay safe, I love you.” 

“Stay safe, I love _you_ ,” Seulgi tells her, their parting phrase, and leans in to kiss her one more time before she allows Joohyun to leave to get ready for the day. 

Joohyun hears the door close when Seulgi leaves for her day as she’s watering the plants. They bloom underneath her, under the power of her and Seulgi’s affections, under the sunlight that shines through the window. They are happy and content, and Joohyun takes a sprig of lavender to have throughout the day, to hopefully help keep her as content as the plant is right now. 

✧

Business is slow for most of the day. 

Joohyun organizes the store rooms for most of it, finding peace in the simplicity of the work. She rewrites labels and washes out dirty jars, and then replaces the empty ones. Most of the people that want healing herbs and tinctures, most of which Joohyun has plenty of stored away, and so it is a pretty normal day. 

Once school lets out though, in comes one Kim Yerim, Joohyun’s apprentice. 

“Unnie!” she says as she sweeps into the store. The flames burning on the candles Joohyun has set up by the register flicker as she does so, sensing her excitement. “I have to go to the baseball game after school with Sooyoung today. It is very important. Please let me. Please, please, _please_.”

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the love potion you asked Seulgi to make for you, would it?”

Yerim gasps. “She wasn’t supposed to tell you.” 

“Seulgi tells me everything. We’re one. That is how our bond works.” 

“I _know_ that,” Yerim says, waving a hand dismissively with the ease of youth. Some days the eight years between the two of them feels like a canyon, when on others it hardly feels like any time at all. This is part of why they trust each other so deeply. “I was just hoping that this time, she wouldn’t blab.” 

“One day, when you have bonded your heart to someone like we have, you’ll understand.” 

“I guess,” Yerim sighs, and of course that is when Seungwan chooses to come into the store. 

The chimes ring especially loudly when she appears, always more of a whirlwind than a girl. Her light hair blows everywhere before settling on her shoulders, and she smiles. Joohyun can’t help but mirror her expression. This is the effect that Seungwan has on people. 

“Unnie, unnie I need-” she starts, her voice filling the room, before she stops dead. “Oh, Yerimie, I didn’t know you worked today!” 

“I work every day,” Yerim says, and Joohyun can see the way blood rushes her cheeks. “You would know that if you came here often enough.” 

“Oh, I see unnie plenty,” Seungwan says, and Joohyun knows that she doesn’t notice the way Yerim bites her lip before making her face go back to nothing, like she isn’t hurt. Poor little Yerim, always too young and therefore invisible, and poor Seungwan, always the last to see. “I don’t think I need to come more.” 

“I think you should definitely come more, unnie,” Yerim says, so seriously that Seungwan laughs, blind as always. 

“Well I will, when I run out of damiana again.” 

“Is that what you need?” Joohyun asks. She notices that Yerim is biting her lip again, since damiana is most notably used for making sex more passionate. Everyone in this room knows this. 

“Yes, please. Five ounces of it.” Seungwan tells her, and so Joohyun goes to the back room to get her jar of damiana to weigh out the necessary amount. 

To Yerim’s credit, Joohyun hears her continuing to try anyway. “So, unnie, are you going to the baseball game today?”

“The one at the high school?” Seungwan asks, and Joohyun comes out carrying the jar of damiana in time to see Seungwan wrinkling her nose. “I don’t think so. Not my thing.” 

“Oh, well it’s not mine either, but I’m going. It’s necessary, you know, to see which boy to target next.” 

“Good on you,” Seungwan says, laughing delightedly. “You’ll have to tell me how this plan of yours goes this time.” 

“I will,” Yerim says, but says nothing else when she realizes that Joohyun is back in the room. 

Seungwan pays, and then walks out the door, leaving a mess behind her without even seeming to realize, as most people with wind and rain in their blood do. 

Yerim watches her go with such wistfulness that Joohyun’s heart breaks a little.

“Don’t worry, one day she’ll realize,” Joohyun tells her. “It will happen, I know it will. I have a feeling in my core about the two of you, and it’s never wrong.”

“I hope so,” Yerim says, and then rolls on the counter. “It’s so frustrating, waiting for things to happen, sometimes.” 

“I know. And for that reason, you can go to the baseball game today.” 

“Oh, thank you, unnie!” Yerim tells her, and immediately gets on her phone to text Sooyoung. 

When Sooyoung comes into the shop it’s with all of the trepidation of a human, but when she sees Yerim she brightens up. Sooyoung is very brave, all things considered. Joohyun can always tell how scared she is to come in here, but does it anyway because she loves Yerim so much. 

“Hello, Joohyun-ssi,” Sooyoung says, bowing her head a little before turning to Yerim. “Are you ready yet?” 

Yerim looks at Joohyun, who nods. “Yes, I am.” 

“Then let’s go! Sungjae is supposed to be the starting pitcher today!” 

“Ooh,” Yerim says. “I can’t wait to see who’s sitting on the bench in his place then. That’s important because...” and then their voices trail off, and Joohyun can’t hear anything any longer. 

She chooses to sit, knowing it may be a while before she gets another customer. So of course this is when the door opens, and Seulgi walks in. Joohyun gets to her feet immediately. 

“I didn’t know you were getting back so soon,” Joohyun says. 

Seulgi leans upon the glass counter, the way she did when she had just met Joohyun, and she had wanted to get closer while still keeping the barrier between them. There’s no need for a barrier now, but Joohyun likes seeing Seulgi like this, reassuring her that Seulgi’s feelings haven’t changed since the day they met even after their marriage. 

“I couldn’t bear to stay away from you,” Seulgi tells her, and Joohyun rewards her for that with a laugh. “Do you need my help with anything?”

“No, I think I’m just going to close early today. Do you want to pick up dinner on the way home?”

“That sounds perfect,” Seulgi says, and laces their fingers together once Joohyun has locked up shop. 

Seulgi tells her about the child--not a witch, just particularly sensitive to magic, like Sooyoung--and the rest of her day, which mostly involved paperwork. Joohyun tells her about the nothing that consisted of her day too, and they pick up noodles, and generally have a lovely walk back home. 

✧

The plants are excited once the feel Seulgi and Joohyun’s presence. They so rarely arrive home at the same time that it’s a treat for them to feel both auras at once. She knows that Seulgi can feel their excitement too, by the way that she smiles. 

They eat dinner and talk about nothing, deciding to go back into the porch to sit, so they can feel the light spring breeze. Luvie decides to join them then, her green eyes bright as she jumps into Seulgi’s lap. 

“Oh, there you are,” Seulgi hums, scritching her behind the ears. Joohyun can feel how the cat rumbles at this, even as she reaches her hand out too. If Joohyun is attune to plants, then Seulgi is attune to animals. Luvie is no exception to this, always choosing to sit with Seulgi if given the choice. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” 

“She’s probably been out getting food from the neighbors. See how fat she’s gotten.” 

“No fat, all fluff. Right, Luvie?” 

Luvie just purrs in response, blinking at Joohyun once before curling back into Seulgi deeper. 

Joohyun sinks deep into the setting sun, embracing the way that winter sinks into the air as it gets darker. Eventually, warmth will prevail, but for now Joohyun lets the last vestiges of winter fall over her. 

She startles when Seulgi reaches for her hand. Luvie has gone now, surely to find somewhere warm for the night, and Seulgi stands.

“We should go inside,” Seulgi says. 

“Yes,” Joohyun says, mourning the loss of another day. Though time seems to stretch endlessly in front of them, she knows that the Goddess decrees that no life should run forever, and that eventually she and Seulgi will run out of them. No matter how happy they are, it all must end. Everything must end. She can’t help but mourn that, just a little, every time she sees a day die. “We should.”


End file.
